Connected my auto battery charger and watched the bubbles start to form. Best position for the positive electrode seemed to be parallel with the vice and directly over it. The action does seem to be somewhat directional.

Leaving in citric acid solution overnight will give the same result without all the wires. I used to use the electrolytic method which works very well but is dangerous indoors as it liberates hydrogen and oxygen in an exactly explosive ratio. Since I discovered the effectiveness of citric acid I've gone over to using that.

Brazing some brass to the ways and mill it flat again will prob. take care of the modifications though.. and it tends to hold up well (seen it been done only) and well depending on your mill you can tighten upp the wise to the point that you get no play out of it. =)

Leaving in citric acid solution overnight will give the same result without all the wires. I used to use the electrolytic method which works very well but is dangerous indoors as it liberates hydrogen and oxygen in an exactly explosive ratio. Since I discovered the effectiveness of citric acid I've gone over to using that.

I buy it by the 5kg bag of powder on eBay - not expensive and it goes a long way. Dilution not critical - say about 100 grammes in a 2 gallon bucket. Better slightly warm but it just speeds things up rather than being essential.

Lots of ways to skin a cat -- I like the washing soda electrolytic method having just tried it. I've also seen sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) used, though it's more expensive, it's even more widely available and still cheap enough.

What I used, was sodium carbonate -- available everywhere at supermarkets --used for clothes washing, and the cost was 15 cents for this tub full of solution -- which can be re-used. In fact I have a big old dividing head that needs to be restored, and that will be next in the tub, plus a bunch of other rusted odds and ends. But chemical methods like citric acid seem good, too, if you have it. Whatever works!

re. explosive gasses and safety -- Charging an auto battery (with the same charger) also liberates oxygen and hydrogen, and in this case I was drawing less than an amp, so the gas evolution (charge) rate was low compared to an open lead acid cell.

I kept the shed door open, and the tub in the open doorway itself, so essentially it was outdoors. (the shed used is unfortunately "ventilated" in the extreme, even when closed!) I also didn't leave it unattended or over night. I checked it periodically, had it on a 2 hour timer on the charger, and that's how long it took to clean up. I always turn off a charger before removing battery clamps from a battery -- learned that one when I was 19 the hard way -- and I did the same for this.

Just including the above in case someone else decides to try it as well.

btw. I remember there used to be an old rumor that Coca Cola would clean the rust off of tools. Never tried it. But I wonder now if it was the citric acid in the soft drink that was the "active" ingredient!

No - Coke has phosphoric acid in it that also acts as a rust converter rather than remover - The iron phosphate formed is attached to the base metal.

Battery charging : I once lost a pair of spectacles and got a face full of sulphuric acid when I took a battery off charge, and the spark ignited the H & O2 in one cell, blowing the top clean off all over my face. Not pleasant so I'm a bit sensitive about explosive gas mixtures !!!!!!

No - Coke has phosphoric acid in it that also acts as a rust converter rather than remover - The iron phosphate formed is attached to the base metal.

Battery charging : I once lost a pair of spectacles and got a face full of sulphuric acid when I took a battery off charge, and the spark ignited the H & O2 in one cell, blowing the top clean off all over my face. Not pleasant so I'm a bit sensitive about explosive gas mixtures !!!!!!

"learned that one when I was 19 the hard way" <---- ahem, same here -- luckily I was near a sink in the garage I was working in. It was on the other side of a jeep, which I apparently leaped over entirely to get to water, according to spectators. That was a commercial charger running at 40 amps.

Important to turn a charger off before removing battery clamps. A wait doesn't hurt either. Even outdoors.

I decided to fill the divots with metal filled epoxy putty -- JB Stick. I've had good luck with it on cast iron in the past. It cures very fast -- about 2 minutes working time after kneading it together. I use rubber gloves and it's important to wet them with water, or this stuff will pull them off. Also you can't easily putty knife it. Best bet is just press it in place.

After it had cured for a half hour, I filed the epoxy down with a coarse file. Then I hit the ways with some petroleum jelly, and a few other areas I wanted to mask as well. The drill divots on the ways looked pretty good after filling with epoxy and oiling. The bare epoxy can be seen in some cuts on top of the vice slide.

We have predictions for rain for the next few days so I was anxious to get a coat of paint on before then. In fact there were a few drops while I was painting, so I quickly moved it to the porch while still wet. Good to have it protected now that it has been stripped!

Yes avid I have to make 2 jaws and a handle for it, and also probably clean up the working surfaces on the mill.

Got a little sidetracked -- got my steam engine conversion running yesterday, and now have a cold. But should be back on it shortly. I need the vise to slit saw my QC tool holders. Seems like all projects are coming together at once.